Oscar Kennedy

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Oscar Kennedy
Born (1999-05-06) 6 May 1999 (age 24)
OccupationActor
Years active2010–present
Television

Oscar Kennedy (born 6 May 1999) is an English actor having had television roles in Hunted (2012), Outlander (2016), Home from Home (2016–2018), Decline and Fall (2017), Bliss (2018), Ladhood (2019–2022) and Wreck (2022–present), and in film The Man with the Iron Heart (2017) and School's Out Forever in 2021.

Early life[edit]

Kennedy was born in Nottingham. His love of acting grew from attending his school's drama club in primary school and resulted in him auditioning to study at the Television Workshop, which lead to him being cast in his first on-screen role as a young Nigel Slater in Toast.[1][2] Kennedy is represented by Curtis Brown.[3]

Career[edit]

Kennedy starred alongside David Tennant and Emily Watson in the 2013 BBC Two miniseries The Politician's Husband. In the show, he plays Noah, a young man with Asperger syndrome and the son of Tennant and Watson's characters, who is caught in the middle of a family conflict.[4] That same year, he portrayed a young Henry VIII in The White Queen.[5]

In 2016, Kennedy portrayed William Grey in an episode of the second season of Starz drama Outlander but was replaced by David Berry in later seasons following a time jump necessitating an older actor.[6][7] Discussing his time on the show in a 2022 interview with the Daily Express, Kennedy spoke favourably about his appearance and stated that he would be open to returning as the character.[8]

From 2019 to 2022, Kennedy appeared in the BBC iPlayer coming-of-age comedy series Ladhood which was written by and starred Liam Williams and was based on his adolescent experiences. Kennedy played the younger version of Williams' character in all three seasons of the show and received critical accalim for his performance.[9][10][11] Kennedy starred alongside Anthony Head, Alex Macqueen and Samantha Bond in the 2021 science fiction film School's Out Forever, which was adapted from the series of novels by Scott K. Andrews and received largely positive cricial reception.[12][13] [14][15]

In 2022, Kennedy was cast in the lead role of BBC Three's comedy horror series Wreck, which was created by British writer Ryan J. Brown and focuses on Kennedy's character Jamie, who sneaks onto a cruise ship in order to find out more about the disappearance of his sister.[16] [17] When discussing the character, Kennedy contrasted him with his character Liam from Ladhood and stated that “Jamie is a young lad from Sheffield. He's not quite so sure of himself. He's a bit of a social outcast. He's had a troubled home life, and now he’s lost the only person that he cares about and cared about him, his sister Pippa. So his new sole motivation in life is to find out what happened to her.”[18] The second series of Wreck premiered on 26 March 2024.[19]

Filmography[edit]

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2017 The Man with the Iron Heart Milic Zelenka
2021 School's Out Forever Lee Keegan

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Toast Young Nigel Slater TV movie
2011 Sirens Mini Stuart 1 episode
The Body Farm Robbie Fay
Great Expectations Young Pip
2012 Hunted Edward Turner Main role, 8 episodes
2013 The Politician's Husband Noah Hoynes Main role, 3 episodes
The White Queen Henry Tudor Recurring role, 3 episodes
2014 Silk Fraser Stephens 1 episode
2016 Outlander William Grey
2016–2018 Home from Home Garth Hackett Main role, 7 episodes
2017 Decline and Fall Peter Beste-Chetwynde 3 episodes
2018 Bliss Kirstaps Main role, 7 episodes
2019–2022 Ladhood Liam Williams Main role, 18 episodes
2022–present Wreck Jamie Walsh Main role, 12 episodes
2023 Breeders Luke Main role, 10 episodes

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Oscar Kennedy". tresamagazine.com. October 25, 2021.
  2. ^ Pinchess, Lynette (July 10, 2010). "Stars in the making". Nottingham Evening Post. p. 18. ProQuest 607026563.
  3. ^ "Oscar Kennedy". curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  4. ^ "The Politician's Husband". curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  5. ^ "The White Queen 2013". moviestillsdb.com. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  6. ^ Roots, Kimberly (November 16, 2022). "Outlander (Kinda) Casts Lord John". tvline.com.
  7. ^ Debnath, Neela (August 1, 2022). "Outlander: Why was Oscar Kennedy replaced as Lord John Grey?".
  8. ^ Debnath, Neela (August 6, 2015). "Outlander star weighs in on a return to series". Express.co.uk.
  9. ^ Dowell, Ben. "Ladhood review — comic exploration of masculinity continues to deliver" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  10. ^ "What's on TV and radio tonight: Monday, September 5" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  11. ^ "Critically acclaimed comedy series Ladhood from BBC Studios is set to conclude in summer 2022 on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer". www.bbc.co.uk.
  12. ^ "Exclusive: Oscar Kennedy Interview and Clip for School's Out Forever". July 4, 2021.
  13. ^ Trumata, Mae. "School's Out Forever: An Interview with Oliver Milburn, Oscar Kennedy and Alex MacQueen".
  14. ^ "School's Out Forever review – gloriously gory adaptation of YA sci-fi horror". the Guardian. February 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "School's Out Forever" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  16. ^ Yossman, KJ (1 March 2022). "Oscar Kennedy, Jack Rowan to Lead BBC Comedy Horror 'Wrecked'". Variety. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  17. ^ Yossman, K. J. (March 1, 2022). "Oscar Kennedy, Jack Rowan to Lead BBC Comedy Horror 'Wrecked'".
  18. ^ Spencer, Samuel (October 5, 2022). "Wreck cast: Meet the crew of potential killers from the BBC Three show". BBC Three.
  19. ^ Mensah, Katelyn (8 March 2024). "First look at Wreck season 2 as Heartstopper's Bradley Riches joins cast". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 March 2024.

External links[edit]